The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of twinspur, a perennial that is grown for use in raised beds, borders, hanging baskets, and patio containers. The new cultivar is known botanically as Diascia and will be referred to hereinafter by the cultivar name ‘PENDER’.
The inventor has been interested and has collected plants of the genus Diascia since the early 1990s. Diascia, which is native to southern Africa, provides showy annual and perennial (in mild climates) plants whose predominant flower color range in nature is in the range of soft to dark pink, also white, lavender-pink, salmon and apricot. Plants of Diascia which are raised from seed are inherently variable in growth habit, ranging from loose, weak plants with brittle stems to plants with significantly shorter internodes resulting in more compact forms and therefore more dense flowering characteristics. Various breeding programs, including the inventor's , have aimed to develop improvements in plant habit and also an extension in the color range into deep pink or red or orange shades and ideally with very similar compact habits for each color.
In 1995, the inventor commenced a deliberate program to develop a range of Diascias whose characteristics would be common throughout, namely an extremely compact plant habit with bright flower colors, and in a range of colors. In 1995 the inventor selected from his collection several plants with the dwarfest habit and hand-pollinated amongst them. The plants involved in the hybridization are unknown although some were numbered selections from prior work.
The seedlings raised during 1995 flowered in the same year and many were retained for further observation in 1996 and 1997. In May 1997, the inventor determined that one plant, PENDAN (unpatented), exhibited exceptional characteristics of dense mounding habit and bright clear saturated pink flowers.
The new Diascia, PENDER was selected in summer of 2002 as a naturally occuring sport found by the inventor to be growing amongst a block of mother plants of PENDAN. The mother plants of PENDAN were all in flower and were growing in 5 liter containers in the inventor's greenhouse in Penhow, Newport, Wales, United Kingdom. Although PENDER exhibited the same overall habit and density of flowering as PENDAN, the inventor was able to distinguish PENDER by its significantly different deep salmon-pink flowers. The inventor considers that the combination of deep salmon-pink flowers and dense mounding habit sets PENDER apart from other cultivars of Diascia known to the inventor.
The distinguishing characteristics of ‘PENDER’ are compact habit, green leaves, and flowers that are deep salmon-pink in color. The flowers of ‘PENDER’ bloom profusely spring, summer, and fall. The parent Diascia ‘PENDAN’ is the closest comparison plant. The new Diascia cultivar ‘PENDER’ is distinguishable from the parent ‘PENDAN’ solely by flower colors which are deep salmon-pink and mid pink respectively. In all other traits the two plants are identical.
The first asexual propagation of the new Diascia cultivar ‘PENDER’ was conducted in 2003 by the inventor at his nursery in Newport, Gwent, England. The method of asexual propagation used was vegetative tip cuttings. Since that time the unique and distinguishing characteristics of ‘PENDER’ have been determined stable, fixed, and reproduce true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.